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Watching the web

When was the last time you came across a website all about aircraft? Chances are that you never have, unless you have specifically searched for one. And that’s despite the fact that there are five million sites dedicated to flying machines.

This is the type of question that a group of internet evangelists hope to raise in churches across the world during a special focus day on April 24. Only the problems with which they are concerned are not those of the aviation enthusiast but how to get the non-believer to view Christian websites? And, even if they did, how to get them to stay long enough to learn something of the gospel?

Focus day

Internet Evangelism Day, to give it its official title, is hosted by the Internet Evangelism Coalition (IEC), an umbrella group of Christian ministries based at the Billy Graham Center in Illinois. Tony Whittaker, UK co-ordinator for the group, thinks that a focus day is much needed: ‘The purpose is to try and enthuse people to reach out to a community. At present most Christian websites are aimed solely at other Christians and are therefore pretty much member only; which, though useful, is not evangelism.’

That this should be so is curious given the relative freedom and anonymity of the web compared to more traditional mission fields. It is surely less daunting for most, technical aspects apart, to proclaim the gospel on the web than to stand up to preach at work or in the town square. Although there are a number of websites that do seek to create a ‘bridge’ between the secular world and gospel truth, nevertheless these can be lukewarm and lacking the confidence and power that attends the true gospel.

Freebies

To this end the IEC has made available a wide range of tools and presentations, downloadable free from http://www.InternetEvangelismDay.com, that churches can use to explore the possibilities of web evangelism. It is hoped that many churches worldwide will devote five minutes or so of their schedule to present these issues on or around April 24.

How then to go about reaching the online community with the gospel? The IEC identifies various different approaches, from the use of chatrooms, to the creation of more community-specific websites. But fundamentally, as Mr. Whittaker notes, ‘churches need to undergo a perception leap’ in their whole attitude to the web. If the church has traditionally been on the defensive when it comes to the internet — building little ghettos of truth but neglecting the vast majority of web users — then it is perhaps time to amend our thinking; and to view the web as a means of reaching a whole new world of unbelievers.

Drawbacks

That said, there still remain difficulties with web evangelism. Creation of Christian chatrooms is one example. In a wicked world, having an open forum in which self-interested people can give vent to their thoughts is not necessarily a recipe for healthy viewing. Though obviously desirable, in the same way that the street evangelist seeks to engage people in conversation, it is difficult to see how a public interface on the internet could be created that helps honest inquirers while filtering out the saboteurs, the vain and the just plain strange.

Location is another drawback. It is one thing to think of the web as its own world but at some point the online user confronted with the claims of Christ will need to meet the church face to face. This is fine if the user is local but what of someone viewing a UK site from Iceland, for example? In the end, though, this does not negate the need to evangelise. It is not for us to work out the mechanics of salvation, but to proclaim the gospel and, through prayer, trust that God will bless the ministry. And, of course, it also needs our support, which is precisely what the IEC focus day hopes to achieve.

If you are interested in holding a presentation on or around April 24, then check out the tools and information on http://www.InternetEvangelismDay.com. Tony Whittaker, UK co-ordinator of the IEC would also love to hear from you (although this is not vital). He can be contacted via tony@soon.org.uk.

Stephen Doggett